Coldplay Deny Joe Satriani in Court

Can this end in dueling solos? Please?

Last year, we reported that noted axe-wrecker and Guitar World mainstay Joe Satriani had filed suit against Coldplay, claiming that Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" contains "substantial original portions" of Satriani's own song "If I Could Fly". And while it's a bit of a stretch to imagine that the Surfing With the Alien guy could be in any way responsible for one of last year's most world-wrecking rock singles, the two songs do share remarkably similar melodies, as plenty of YouTube videos have been happy to point out. (The part about seeing the fear in your enemy's eyes was definitely all Coldplay, though.)

Not long after Satriani filed suit, Coldplay released a statement claiming that Satriani didn't have anything to do with "Viva La Vida": "Joe Satriani is a great musician, but he did not write the song 'Viva la Vida'. We respectfully ask him to accept our assurances of this and wish him well with all future endeavors."

Satriani did not accept those assurances, of course. I mean, would you? The Associated Press (via Billboard) reports that lawyers for Coldplay have once again insisted that Satriani didn't write the song, this time in court. Yesterday, they filed a response in a Los Angeles federal court, claiming that "If I Could Fly" "lacks originality" and doesn't warrant copyright protection.

According to Billboard, Satriani's lawyer believed the matter could've been resolved out of court, which is usually where cases like this end. Coldplay are sticking to their guns, though, and they stand to lose all kinds of money if the court rules against them.